On 1 November 2024, the 17th annual conference dedicated to multilingualism in the European Union (EU), “The Latvian Language in the European Union: mutual learning and education”, convened in Riga.
This year, linguists, teachers, translators and experts from other sectors exchanged views on mutual learning and education in the process of translating EU legislation. The conference addressed latest developments concerning the translator’s profession and the required education qualifications.
The participants also discussed other key aspects such as terminology, the work of legal linguists, and contribution made by Latvian experts to the drafting of EU legislations.
Looking back at the 20 years of Latvia’s EU membership, the conference focused on the future of multilingualism and a translator’s role in a future perspective.
In her speech at the opening of the conference, the Under-Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ingrīda Levrence, said that the 20 years in the status of an EU official language have contributed to the development of the Latvian language.
“We highly appreciate the work of experts from the translation services of the European Union institutions as they contribute to making the terminology of the European Union available to citizens and professionals in Latvia,” Ingrīda Levrence underlined.
Referring to the theme of the conference – mutual learning and education – the Under-Secretary of State pointed out the increasing role played by the artificial intelligence in the translation industry. Ingrīda Levrence noted that AI should continue acting as an assistant in translation, while not being able to replace language professionals, as demonstrated by insights from today’s conference.
The participants were also addressed by the Head of the European Commission Representation in Latvia, Zane Petre. The conference was chaired by the Head of the Latvian Language Unit 1 at the Department C.1 at the EU Directorate-General for Translation, Liena Muskare.
Sessions were chaired by the Head of the Terminology and Legal Translation Department, Deputy Director for Development at the State Language Centre, Arturs Krastiņš, and the Head of Department C.3 at the EU Directorate-General for Translation, Mareks Graudiņš.
Presentations on topics of current relevance to language and translation were given by experts from Latvian and EU institutions.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation, the State Language Centre, and the European Commission Representation in Latvia.
